[johnboy]

hello,
I'm starting a campaign with a bunch of gamers that have played for most of their lives (me included). We run a pretty advanced Dnd gamewith house rules out the yenyan. What I'm asking for is if anybody has any good adventure hooks as side treks for my campaigan. We're all kind of running out of ideas. If anyone does just responed to this. Thanx.
Johnboy

If the sky's the limit, then hells the starting point.

[Rintaran]

Hey johnboy,

I've come to similar ends myself a number of times and have managed to come up with a few half-decent ideas after many hours of caffeine. It truly depends on the campaign dynamics... Do you tend more towards Hack & Slash, Puzzles, or something else?

Have you done anything along the lines of holidays in your campaign? Once I decided that a certain kingdom had a riddling competiton every year on the same day. There are five rounds in the 'royal' version of it. The fifth round is something of a trick, there's a maiden standing in front of a fountain with three chalices who says that the characters can drink from anything in front of them. Each thing has its own prize, including forced marriage to the maiden if they decide to drink from her lips.

If they do not drink from her lips, have the king give them a mission to bring her to another part of the kingdom or something. Just travelling can bring about its own hooks.

For one of my more combat-oriented campaigns, I've introduced a mysterious army that the characters have to find out where its coming from (oh no! its from the outer planes!) .

Best of luck in finding something of use. If these don't help, try reading books and watching some movies. They're always good.

[DrunkenMaster]

Hi

How about cursing the players ?
Some beautiful items from some evil monster, which just happens to be cursed. DMG has pretty "nice" cursed items. Maybe you could make up your own item, which is cursed and think of a way to players find out how to uncurse them...

[palehorse]

Here are a couple of things I do to generate adventures when I'm running dry...

1) Mine your game history.
This works especially well if you've had your gamers playing in the same world for a long time. Look back through your past adventures and find NPC's you can bring back or incorporate somehow.
Example: When my PC's were up-and-comers in one campaign I ran, they killed a group of bandits attacking a village. The bandits turned out to just be poor, starving farmers trying to make it through the winter. The characters simply shrugged and said, basically, "So? They shouldn't have robbed people." So, many levels later, they had a new enemy after them, dogging their every step for months, staying just out of reach. He turned out to be the son of one of the bandits, looking for revenge for his fathers death. He wasn't evil in the least(chaotic good, I think, or something like that), but he turned out to be one of the characters most implacable foes.
So, take a look back. I'm sure if you think hard you'll be able to come up with some NPC's that the characters mistreated, or just ones that are particulary memorable if only because they said/did something funny. Bring them back as the center point of a new adventure! I find it very enriching to the game world.

2) Start with a cliche, then break it.
There are all kinds of cliches in fantasy; take them and turn them on their head.
Example: A dragon kidnaps a princess. Knight rides off to rescue her, hasn't returned yet, everyones worried, and the king would like the PC's to look into it.
Whats REALLY going on is:
-The white knight is actually evil and just wants to marry the princess so that he can sieze the throne.
-The dragon and the princess are madly in love.
-The king doesn't want ANY of them to come back; he hates his daughter, knows the white knight is really evil, and thinks the PC's may be planning something against him too. Better if the dragon eats them all.
This is a simplified example, but you get the idea. If you've been using the same game world for awhile, you've probably already built up a good collection of 'givens' yourself, like, say, halflings can't be wizards. All of a sudden, the PC's have to contend with a halfling who's throwing spells around like crazy! Maybe he's special, maybe he's not really a halfling, maybe he's not really the one casting the spells... there are any number of possibilities.

The biggest thing for me is, all my stories start with people. First, I come up with some NPC's, then I figure out how they relate to each other, and the story just flows from there.

Hope this helps..
palehorse

[donaghey]

i like to use some small things that have been used
like: when the orcs from the cave across the river were slain by the pc's i say that a infestation of vermin take over that cave
so you can reuse all of the world you've been playing in

or some times i use a sequel
like:when the orcs left the cave because of being beaten they took something special to some one
like like:a milk maids husband went to fight he was killed and the orcs took his sword a sacred artifact or heirloom in the family and would pay hansomely to get it back
it does work but it is obviose and cliche-ed try it if the pcs get mad say it was donaghy's fault
>donaghey

[infinity]

Lately i have started dming...(may god have mercy on our souls)...and i have had an unusually hard time getting my PCs to go on an adventure. No matter what I try, they always do (and i always did) try to screw it up. Can anyone help me wth some ideas that they just won't kill the whole town that they were supposed to save, or ignore the strange happenings.

[Overlord]

I know that this is something that you should usually not do, but if there is no other way, why don't you try guiding them into it to the point that they have very little alternative. One other thing - You said that they weren't catching on to your plot hooks. You havn't said what they want to do instead. Mabye if we knew that then we could come up with some alternative suggestions?
Well, all the best!!!

[Seven]

If they just end up always burning a town to the ground, what about having an interesting plot hook in which the person employing them / from which the adventure started really wants the place destroyed and heard about the player's reputation of destruction. Then, have the guy come after the PCs and maybe one or two survivors of the town. Just a thought. An interesting response to your quote, infinity. "Those who have learned to see the unseen in the dark do not need the light, nor fear it's lack."

[infinity]

See the problem with that is that if anyone offered to pay them a sum of money, they'd kill or torture the man until he told them where the treasure was. I constantly send good aligned parties after them, but they always seem to somehow defeat them. I made a supposed to be long-term adventure, out of a person avenging their families death (which the party killed) and so now they make sure to kill everybody in their wake...

I dunno, i think im gonna start a new campaign, this one was a fwaup.

Oh well.

[Shadow_Wolf]

you could always have an evil cleric in an inpenitrable fortress create a plage to wipe out the world. Have one of the PCs loved ones infected and they must find a cure or that person is dead. Maby even a stipulation that no blood can be spilled in persute of the cure. a cure curse . try that one

[marcelwaal]

I see you have a real problem on your hands.

plot a plot for evil chacarters is always a pain. here is some important guidelines:

You need to know the characters this is often very difficult if the characters has just been made. Having a background story written helps you know what the characters might and might not do.

Pc's usually never knows when to run and when to stay and fight. If they start killing a whole town and you think to yourself okay the city guard is 60-100 men strong noway they can defeat that many men. you send the city guard after them and the pc's stay and try to fight them. you get soft on them and let them defeat the city guard because you don't want to kill any of the characters. the pc's will learn that and then next time you do some along those line like history repeats it self the pc's stay and fight and you get soft again and let them defeat the overwhelming foe again. thus strenghtening the characters belief that they cannot be defeated and that they will never die.

Pc's killing is bad and should be avoided agreed. But don't be afraid to kill your players that is a sure way to lose control of them. Because if they believe they kan kill the king they will try.

You don't have to kill the whole party to get the message through(hopefully) kill a single one and let the rest escape usually manages to make the players wiser. If they try to raze a twon and one or two of them gets killed by the city guard they will think twice about trying to rze the next town.

taking notes on what the players do and letting their actions have consequences will but a damper on them. Serious consequences might hamper the game or make the players not want to play again. but being soft and seeing the players ruin you storyline time and time again makes you not want to be a dm anymore and thats a shame.

Anyway last thing:
players are a sneaky race they quickly learn you style of play and adapt to it. If you let them get away with thing they shouldn't be allowed to get away with they will try again. If you teach them that their actions have conequences they will learn to think more careful about what they do next time.

Hope the advise helps

Erk

[Rintaran]

Here's something that should help. If the players have to fight city guards, two of them are level 1 and the rest are level 20. A guard is not usually the type that want to kill, just knock out and haul to jail. -10 is death and anything below 0 is unconsious, so its easy for them to make arrests. It is called Dungeons & Dragons after all. So now they're in prison. Depending on the governmental system you wish to have in the area, they could then stand trial and punishment could be anything from being shoved weaponless and armorless into a labyrinth to feed the horrible minotaur, being forced to work in a mine, simply being locked away for a while, or being placed on a quest that would help his kingdom out of a particular bind {like a plague that needs medication, or a band of orcs are stopping caravans and the main city is low on food as a result, or any numbr of things). Of course, this leads to a geas of sometype, and the players will think it cheap, but that's punishment for their character's bad behaviour. Its an option that it all too often ignored but can be of use on occasion.

[scot]

(sorry for my extended absence)

I have to agree this is a hard one.

The first thing I would recommend is throw out the idea of the PC's saving the town. I know this sounds harsh but it appears from your posts that the players aren't interested in saving the town which is why you may be having trouble getting them engaged.

Players are an interesting bunch. Most of the players I have around my gaming table have a strong bond to their characters and would prefer for nothing bad to happen to them - if your group is like mine that's all you need to know to get them to leave town.

A couple of ideas you could use to get them to leave.
1. A plague strikes the town and one of the characters gets sick - they have to leave to find a cure or let their companion die.
2. Town's water source dries up. No water, no town - simple as that.

If the PCs are constantly defeating the good aligned parties being set after them - stop using that strategy. How about another 'evil' aligned character that uses poison? Slip it in a drink, the evening meal, etc. - a little paranoia goes a long way.

Now if the party decides to 'torch the town' and you want to bring in the local militia that's okay but in my world if you beat one city watch the next town over is already sending word to the King for reinforcments.

Just my two cents (and then some )

[grndlprm]

A lot of good advice in these posts. I agree, time to get rid of any hook that involves them saving anything. They are an evil group and their actions show this. If they have burned bridges by torturing people trying to get their help and have destroyed towns, chances are these people have friends. Have them hire an assassin and have it mortally wound one of the players. Turn their mission to hunting for their assassin. Could also maybe turn it around and have some truly evil power try and hire them to do some evil bidding for payment. Might as well run with it if you can't fight it. Might be fun DMing from a new perspective as well.

If you don't want an evil campaign, it is true that the town guards should not lose and for certain word has gotten out about the trouble they cause. Have them captured and face a small rigged mock trial where they are set to be hung. Have crowds gather cheering and such and see if the knowledge that they are hated does anything to them. Obviously they will escape but maybe a lesson learned? If not, perhaps do it again? Make all towns unsafe for them. Force them to do a good act to redeem themselves?

Starting to reach.

[david_peek]

Quote

Can anyone help me wth some ideas that they just won't kill the whole town that they were supposed to save, or ignore the strange happenings.

There have been some good ideas set forward in this forum, but I think one key point is being overlooked here: the alignment of your PCs.

Usually slaughtering townsfolk is considered an evil act. If this is their regular mindset, then you have an evil party, and the only way they're going to do anything remotely altruistic is if it's in their best interests (What's in it for me?).

If the PCs aren't evil, then their actions violate the alignments they've chosen. Discuss that with your players! Be honest and let them know you aren't feeling that the campaign is going in the direction you'd like it to go, and don't think the characters are acting in a manner consistent with their alignments. If the players really want an alignment adjusted to how they want their characters to act, there is a decent test near the back of the Herobuilder's Guidebook.

You are the DM and should, in theory, have control over what goes on in your campaign. If the players insist on doing things that go against their characters' alignments, find appropriate countermeasures. Dieties of clerics could stop granting spells until they atone...rangers could have their fellows hear of their misdeeds, and become stalked by those looking for justice...monks could be cast out of their orders...

As far as the players ignoring hooks, they work much better if made personal. Anything that affects the PCs on an intimate level is sure to get them involved. Want to get them interested in wiping out the local thieves' guild? Have their rooms at the inn or their base of operations robbed...take them to the cleaners. That will get them to sit up and take notice! Now they have a personal stake in things.

Hope this is some kind of help to you.